Job Title: Engagement & Support Worker
Salary: £26,227.50 per annum
Working Hours: 37.5 hrs per week
Location: 1x Milton Keynes & 1x Bedford
Responsible to: Team Leader
Number of Positions: 2 - 1x Permanent & 1x Maternity Cover until June 2027
What you will be doing?
The Engagement & Support position will be supporting a range of people from within the drug & alcohol recovery or treatment services, mental health or criminal justice system in order to make lasting positive changes throughout outreach, person-centered support and community engagement. The role combines relationship building, case management and partnership working to help the individuals we support to achieve greater independence.
The role will involve working with a small caseload where the Engagement & Support Worker will build trusted relationships, develop support plans that are person centered, coordinate services with partner organisations and encourage the people we support to become more confident and independent.
What we are looking for?
- Experience of working (or significant voluntary experience) within criminal justice services, drug & alcohol recovery or treatment services, homelessness/housing services or mental health services is highly desirable.
- Experience of promoting the rights, responsibilities and informed choice of the individuals, acting as an advocate to promote independence.
- Proven experience in dealing with a wide variety of individuals in a positive and confidential manner, both face to face and on the telephone.
- Experience of data collection, administration and recording procedures.
- Experience of building and maintaining strong relationships with partner organisations and developing contacts and networks across a wide range of local services.
- Good standard of general education.
- An understanding of the complex interdependencies of mental health, homelessness, substance abuse and offending behaviour.
- Professional curiosity with the ability and willingness to learn and apply learning to support delivery.
- High level of relationship skills: Empathy; caring; acceptance; mutual affirmation; and supportive whilst ensuring professional boundaries are maintained.
- Current driving license, use of car and appropriate business use insurance is essential.
What we offer?
- Holidays: 28 days plus bank holidays with Christmas closure between Christmas and New Year for all employees. Annual leave increases in line with length of service.
- Birthdays: Enjoy an extra day off on your birthday.
- Training & Development: 2 hrs per month to focus on learning and career development.
- Reflective Practice and Monthly Coaching: An opportunity to evaluate actions and experiences to gain insights and improve future performance.
- Employee Social Fund: An initiative designed to bring the organisation together on a social level, fostering relationships and incorporating our values.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP): This provides all employees a safe space to discuss any of their personal or professional challenges. It is a confidential service available 24/7 for all employees and their immediate families that includes, short-term counselling, legal advice, and financial guidance.
- Pension: Peoples Pension scheme, contributions are 3% employer and 5% employee.
- Life Insurance: Five times salary.
- Annual Awards Ceremony and Celebration: An annual awards ceremony tied into a Christmas Party to celebrate the amazing work our employees do.
- CLI Staffing Group: an active forum to share your opinions to influence and change the way CLI operates.
- Wellbeing: Your health and wellbeing matters to us. We run regular monthly wellbeing activities, giving you dedicated time with your colleagues to focus on your wellbeing. We also hold regular social events to help you connect with your colleagues in a relaxed and fun setting.
- Volunteering Days: An opportunity to give back to the community.
- Refer a Friend Scheme: An opportunity to qualify for a £250 reward voucher if you refer someone you know into any paid, externally advertised position (permanent or fixed-term) within CLI.
We are Gold accredited by Investors in People, accredited by the Living Wage Foundation and supporters of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
About Community Led Initiatives
Community Led Initiatives are a lived experience organisation that believes in the capacity for human change. We support those who have been through the criminal justice system, have been affected by drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness or mental health issues. We help them to overcome the barriers preventing them from achieving their goals.
We inspire people to believe that change is possible. We seek, recruit and develop employees who personify change as they will have encountered and overcome many of the barriers which the people we support will face.
We provide one-to-one peer support and group work activities to help the people we work with to achieve their personal goals. In addition to addressing their practical and emotional needs we help them to develop a new positive sense of self. By the end of our mentoring relationship, the people we work with feel empowered to move their lives forward independently and build upon the successes achieved with us.
Many of the people we work with go on to volunteer here at CLI to help build their CV, develop skills, gain meaningful work and bring utility to their past. And we are proud to say that a significant number of CLI mentoring programme graduates go on to become long term ambassadors for change.
We work in partnership with other organisations that are striving to deliver positive impacts, support change, and share our commitment and values.
And we actively welcome those with lived experience of offending, addiction, homelessness, or mental health issues as part of our team. Where others see risk, we see opportunity.
We believe everyone deserves to feel values, to be happy, to belong.
The successful candidate will commit to working in line with our workplace values which are:
- People first – people are our top priority. We care so everyone can be their best.
- Community – our actions and support help build stronger communities where people can find their place and thrive.
- Transformation – we do challenging work, creating positive change that helps people move on with their lives.
- Excellence – we strive to always be our best, to exceed expectations, to learn from our mistakes.
- Trust – we trust ourselves, our colleagues and those we work with to do the right thing, to show integrity, acceptance, respect and fairness in all we do.
To apply for the Engagement & Support Worker position, please visit www.communityled.org.uk/vacancies where you will find the full job description and application form. Please submit your application to [email protected] by 12pm Friday 31st July 2026.
The closing date may be brought forward, dependent on the number of applications received.
Community Led Initiatives is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes applications regardless of race, nationality, ethnic origin, sex, marital status, disability, or age. All applicants are considered based on their merits and abilities for the job. All posts are subject to enhanced DBS checks however it will not be used to discriminate unfairly against any individual. We actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills, and potential and welcome applications from a wide range of candidates, including those with criminal records.
Pay: £26,227.50 per year
Application question(s):
- Please explain how you meet the specification of this role?
- Do you have a valid driving license and a car? This is an essential requirement of the role.
Work Location: In person
